Enforcement

SOUTH BEND -- Indiana Excise Police made their presence known around the Notre Dame campus over the weekend, as officers issued 56 tickets and arrested 35 people on mostly alcohol-related offenses. Although the enforcement targeted locations near the campus, only three people who received tickets are Notre Dame students, police said. Officers arrested 20 people on Friday on a combined 38 charges. Thirteen minors were issued 17 citations for illegal possession of alcohol, a minor in a tavern or liquor store and possession of a fake ID. Seven adults, meanwhile, were arrested on suspicion of furnishing alcohol to a minor, as well as other offenses.

LANSING -- Although Michigan made texting while driving a primary offense last summer, enforcement remains a difficult task for police. Thomas Hendrickson, executive director of the Michigan Association of Chiefs of Police based in Okemos, Mich., said he suspects that tickets are rarely issued simply because it's difficult to tell whether a driver is actively texting. Dialing a phone number or using other phone functions isn't illegal, he said, and dialing wouldn't qualify as a reasonable suspicion for police to make a traffic stop.

SOUTH BEND -- Although police declined to say where they'll be setting up traffic enforcement zones, simply put: "You'll know if you're in one. " The city is enjoying one of its lowest levels of traffic fatalities ever because of increased enforcement and driver education programs, police say. There's been only one fatality in the city limits in 2007, and there was actually, at one time, 368 days between them. There were seven fatalities in 2006. Police are looking to help continue that trend during the next two weeks as they launch an intensive enforcement effort aimed at cracking down on drivers who speed, disregard red lights, violate the "No Turn on Red" or demonstrate any unsafe or reckless driving.

As the Michigan Legislature draws closer to passage of a bill to match the legal blood alcohol for watercraft operators with that for motor vehicle operators, lawmakers would do well to consider the effect of what they're doing. Don't get us wrong. We definitely think they should do it. But it would be an oversimplification to presume that lowering the legal BAC from 0.10 to 0.08 for boat operators will make Michigan waterways significantly safer for families. Two vital elements in addition to a tougher law are education and enforcement.

MISHAWAKA -- Education officials have determined there has not been a clear, demonstrated desire by parents to implement a uniform policy in the city's public schools. Instead, School City of Mishawaka officials will focus on more profound enforcement of the dress code policy already in place. School board members discussed proposed revisions to administrative guidelines regarding the dress code Tuesday night at Beiger Elementary School. "Everybody believes there needs to be a standard of dress that's appropriate," board President Larry Stillson said.

LANSING -- This season's hunters may see small, low-flying aircraft moving more frequently over the treetops. That's because conservation officials will be stepping up enforcement of a new Lower Peninsula ban on deer baiting, said Mary Dettloff, Department of Natural Resources press secretary. The measure includes increasing the number of surveillance flights. "We'll have some patrols looking specifically at baiting and feeding issues," said DNR conservation officer Lt. Creig Grey, who supervises enforcement in Crawford and nine other counties.

WASHINGTON - As Washington debates how to fix America's broken immigration system, the time has come for realistic solutions that will both strengthen national security and boost economic growth. Business Roundtable, an association of CEOs of America's leading companies, believes immigration reform is essential for creating a healthier U.S. economy. Overhauling our immigration system will place more resources toward enforcement, produce a more dynamic and skilled labor force, and enable U.S. businesses to compete more effectively in the global marketplace.

SOUTH BEND - Local law enforcement officials reacted with surprise this week at comments made by Indiana State Police Superintendent Paul Whitesell regarding legalizing and taxing marijuana. Whitesell said earlier this week at a State Budget Committee hearing, “My thought is, toward the zenith of my career, it is here, it's going to stay. That's an awful lot of victimization that goes with it. “If it were up to me, I do believe I would legalize it and tax it, particularly in sight of the fact that several other states have now come to that part of their legal system as well.” It doesn't appear officials - at least in this area - are ready to share Whitesell's view.

This is in reference to a Oct. 6 letter from Regina Weissert and Margaret Kenney, representatives of Interfaith Women's Dialogue Group of Michiana. I come from a long line of gun carriers. We are all legal and it is very hard to get a gun permit in Michigan, so there are tough laws. Having the ability to get permits is already in place. Now just enforce what is already there. However, it is not the legality of a gun carrier that is at issue. It is how to control the mentally challenged and criminals who are doing these shooting and are able to get a gun. If our elected representatives can come up with a sure cure for these types of people, then I for one will vote for them in the coming election.

The Indiana Department of Transportation and Indiana Operation Lifesaver have partnered with law enforcement agencies and railroad companies to enforce and increase public awareness of highway-rail crossing laws. All train collisions with vehicles or pedestrians are in some way preventable, INDOT says, noting that two out of three crashes occur at crossings with automatic warning devices such as gates or flashing lights. Indiana has about 6,000 public pedestrian and highway railroad grade crossings, which is more than all but four other states.

WASHINGTON Though overshadowed by the shocking Supreme Court decision on health care, the court's Arizona immigration decision, issued three days earlier, remains far more significant than appreciated. It was generally viewed as mixed or ambiguous because the Justice Department succeeded in striking down three of the law's provisions. However, regarding the law's central and most controversial element -- requiring officers to inquire into the immigration status of anyone picked up for some other violation -- the ruling was definitive, indeed unanimous.

CASSOPOLIS -- The Cass County Sheriff's Office will host a National Police Week Memorial Service at noon today to honor fallen officers and the officers who continue to serve. The service will be at the Deputy Shane Britton Memorial Garden on the north lawn of the Sheriff's Office in Cassopolis. Participating in the event will be the Cass County Sheriff's Office Honor Guard and the Cass County Chaplain's Service. The public is invited to attend to remember law enforcement officers who have given their lives in service and to honor law enforcement officers who continue to serve.

SOUTH BEND -- For nearly 20 years, Troy Ieraci has patrolled local neighborhoods and businesses with his Lawn Enforcement service, controlling weeds in summer and snow in winter. Ieraci started the business as a sideline, with a push mower in the trunk of a 1982 Oldsmobile Toronado, and the work has grown steadily with new and repeat customers in St. Joseph County, including some who have depended on him from the beginning. "I mainly just started it to earn extra money," he said.

SOUTH BEND -- Does downtown South Bend have a perception problem? One notable downtown business owner believes so -- even if it's unwarranted. "There's a perception that there's panhandlers and crime or at least that it's run down," said Mark McDonnell, owner of LaSalle Grill and president of the Downtown Dining Alliance of South Bend. "People think Mishawaka is safe and South Bend is Sodom and Gomorah. That it's terrible. " "We're trying to change the perception that it's not a dangerous place.

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. -- Officials are scheduled to begin enforcing an order Saturday that bans ownership of certain exotic swine in Michigan. The order targets Eurasian and Russian boars and similar breeds raised primarily for hunting at enclosed game ranches. The state Department of Natural Resources says some have escaped into the wild. It's estimated that 3,000 to 5,000 feral hogs roam the state, where they root in the soil for food, damaging crops and natural areas. Environmental groups support the order, along with agriculture groups such as the Michigan Pork Producers Association.

SOUTH BEND -- When a Riley High School teacher addressed South Bend's school board during the public-comment period of a meeting this winter to talk about the problem of students' cell phone use, she was cut short. "We have employees who constantly come to this board and this has got to stop," Roger Parent, the school board president, told her. "I'm sending a message to employees," he said. "It's not our job to try to deal with these things here." Janus Horrall, a teacher at the south-side school, said nearly every student has a cell phone these days.